On Campus News

Andrew Migliori, a senior at the Rhode Island School of Design, discusses his senior film project �Donner Party: The Musical� and talks about its successful Kickstarter campaign which is the sole source of funding for the film and which raised over $16,000.

What can you tell me about your project Donner Party: The Musical? And what made you decide on it for your senior film project?
The film will be a revisionist history retelling of the story of the Donner Party and their ill-fated trip across the country. Whereas we think of their struggle as this massive cannibalistic feast in the snow-covered Sierra Nevada, my treatment is much more light-hearted (as light-hearted as you can be with the subject matter). Ever since I was a freshman, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to come up with a good idea for a senior film, but as the years went on, I started to nail down aspects of what I wanted to do. Most importantly, I realized I wanted to make a musical, or some kind of grand spectacle. My sister, Michelle, showed me a stage performance she put on at her university�a 20-minute minimalistic musical about the Donner Party�and a light bulb immediately went on over my head. I contacted the writers of the show, Jonah Kagan and Isaac Goldberg, to ask if I could adapt it, and they've been truly supportive of me as I've taken their baby that was meant for the stage and shaped into something that works on the screen.

How did you decide on Kickstarter for funding? And is the entirety of your funding coming from there?
Several of the students in the year above me used Kickstarter for their senior films, and they shared great success, so I was inspired by such a community that would support student work. I was also interested in the networking and exposure aspect. Kickstarter has been skyrocketing in popularity, and I figured it was the best way to get the most eyes on my project. Indeed, the entirety of my funding is coming from Kickstarter and as I've been applying the funds to their necessary areas, it seems I have just the amount I need!

How did you figure out the needed budget? And what steps of pre-production did you have ready before you took the project to Kickstarter?
I came up with the budget first by considering what I could avoid paying for. Since I was making a student film, I knew I could save money by compensating the actors through food and transportation rather than dipping into my funds. My school, the Rhode Island School of Design, also provided much of the equipment I needed so that saved me lots on rentals. It then became a matter of figuring out a shooting schedule and finding out how much food and gas I would need to pay for based on crew size and filming dates, getting quotes from rental houses on remaining equipment, and generally overestimating costs to add some padding. I also had the expert advice of my instructors, Peter O'Neill, Alex Anthony, and Jessica Jennings, all of whom were plenty experienced in practical budget estimation. In the end, I ended up cutting my ideal budget down by a few thousand because I would prefer to have most of my ideal budget, rather than overshooting and missing a potentially overambitious goal by the deadline!
In order to calculate the budget, I had already begun to plan out shooting schedules and equipment needed, so that helped a lot with creating the Kickstarter. I was able to get a better grasp on the scale of the project I was undertaking and have complete faith in what I was attempting through this information I had collected as well as having a nearly finished script. I was also mostly through the storyboarding process, which I thought would be a welcome addition to my Kickstarter video.

When making the Kickstarter video, what did you feel was important to convey to viewers? And how did you implement it into the film?
What was most important to me was conveying my enthusiasm for the project (I think I'm smiling throughout the video!) as well as how important the project was, not only for me to graduate, but to represent me in the industry once I finish school. Aside from establishing where I stood, I also wanted to establish the tone of the film I set out to create. I implemented this by recording an abridged version of one of the songs as background music, in addition to describing the film in a humorous light, to get past any other associations people may have with the Donner Party. Luckily, I had already cast the lead actress, the incomparable Kendra White, and I was able to bring her in to get some snippets of her great voice and the humor in the lyrics�it was really important to sell the musical aspect! The last major aspect I wanted to briefly cover was where the budget was going. Potential backers certainly like to know where their generous donations are headed, so that provided some peace of mind. All in all, I did my best to strike a balance between a professional atmosphere to convey that I knew what I was doing, while keeping it conversational and accessible.

Now that you have your funding, what are your next steps in making Donner Party: The Musical? And what are your hopes for the finished film?
I am currently in the process of finalizing my rentals and paying for 16mm film stock, while arranging for smaller props and tying up loose ends for the shoot which will begin next Friday, the 18th! It's been such a whirlwind from succeeding in the Kickstarter realm to securing the locations and logistics and finally prepping for the shoot, all within a month or so. The film will premiere at RISD's senior film show around May 15th. I hope that it comes out well enough that I can send it along to festivals and really make all my wonderful backers proud.





Resources:

Andrew Migliori's Official Site